Mindfulness, The Art Of Being In The Here And Now
Do you know what mindfulness is ? In Eastern societies, the practice of meditation has been very common since ancient times. This discipline, aimed at finding spiritual balance, began to be introduced in the West in the 1970s.
Mindfulness, also called mindfulness or mindfulness, is one of the practical applications of meditation, used in psychology to treat stress, anxiety and depression.
What exactly is mindfulness?
To understand this practice, we have to contextualize it in its Buddhist roots. Overall, this philosophy views life as a set of pleasant and unpleasant sensations and teaches us that attachment is what causes us pain.
Consequently, the solution to suffering would be to live life as it is, accepting both the good and the bad times. This acceptance frees us from tension and brings calm and tranquility.
mindfulness to relax
In Eastern cultures, various forms of meditation are practiced to achieve a state of relaxation. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that has been adapted in the West to enhance states of relaxation and help resolve issues of anxiety, stress and even depression.
In practice, it consists of staying still, paying attention to the breath, concentrating on it, and accepting the sensations and thoughts that come along while we are concentrating. Let them go without worrying about them.
How do I apply this in my daily life?
While rigorous mindfulness practice involves doing this breathing exercise for about 40 minutes, there is a simpler way to practice mindfulness in daily life that also has psychological benefits. Let’s explain how, through an example.
Imagine you are having your breakfast. Normally, we are thinking of a thousand things: what awaits us at work, on the shopping list, on the discussion we had yesterday with our partner… Sometimes we do two things at the same time: we drink coffee, read the newspaper or talk to telephone.
In order to practice mindfulness, we have to pay full attention to what we are doing at the moment, in this case, having breakfast. For this, follow our guidelines.
– Decide that, in this period of time, you will only live the experience of drinking coffee without distractions.
– Once alone, in front of your coffee and toast (or whatever you prefer), be aware of your thoughts, whether or not they have something to do with your breakfast. Accept these thoughts, let them go, and get back to focusing on your coffee.
– Focus on the experience of the senses : pay attention to the flavors, the texture of the food, the temperature of the environment, even if you feel any pain, but without judgment. It is not a question of thinking about whether it is hot or not, but of perceiving reality with our senses. Be aware without judging; breathe slowly and unhurriedly.
This can be applied to any daily activity, while showering, cooking, driving, at work…
With practice, you will be able to direct your full attention to the present in uncomfortable situations without judgment, for example, in a traffic jam, in the doctor’s office…
What are the benefits of mindfulness?
There are scientific studies that demonstrate that the practice of mindfulness reduces levels of stress, anxiety and depression.
The cause of these problems is related to our mind, which can be fixed in the past (regrets, sadness and assumptions), or in the future (concerns about a hypothetical future without paying due attention to the present).
With mindfulness, we learn to focus our mind on the present moment, and consequently we feel less regret, frustration or anticipation, which are the three foundations of anxiety or depression.
When we are trained to be in the here and now, we accept not only the upside (the pleasure of toasting toast) but the downside (the unbearable summer heat). We then discover a serenity and peace that have always been within us, that help us face the obstacles and inconveniences of everyday life.
